Losing Streak
by ohscrewthename
Summary: "...you're talking to me, and you're still naked." KairiXAxel One-shot


Hey guys, time for another one-shot. I think I'm addicted to this couple.

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><p><strong><span>Losing Streak<span>**

"I still don't see why you want to go skinny dipping!" Namine shouts from her sitting position on the shore (well, she counts it as shouting) as I float around, "What's the _point_ of it?"

"The point of this is..." To not have a point, duh.

_It's a whim, Namine. A WHIM._

But I know I can't tell her that. Namine never was the type to wing it.

"Well?" She hugs her legs, almost anxiously, as she awaits my response.

"What's so wrong with me swimming naked?" I ask. My toes peek out above the water as I lift a foot up, "The human body is considered pure art, so why be ashamed of it? I mean, you draw naked people all the time."

"But there is a time and a place to bare all, Kairi!"

"What, when somebody has to ask you to strip first?" I tease, turning away to avoid her evil expression.

Namine sighs with exasperation. "Kairi, that's it! You-!"

A gust of air whirls past us, just as Namine shouts something else. Though, with the mix of the ocean's babble and the wide-leaf palm trees shaking in the wind, I can't hear a single word. She's most likely offended, since she's always disliked it when people "mock the artist who strives to bring out beauty", as she puts it.

"Fine!" I stand up, "I'll get out then, if you're gonna be so touchy."

Namine goes silent. Bet she's secretly gloating.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." My eyes dodge around, searching, " Just let me get my swimsuit and..."

"What, did it fly off of you?"

Slightly peeved by the quiet, mocking tone in her voice, I whirl around.

"Namine, are you-"

A strange, spiky redhead sits in Namine's spot; smirking at me as he sprawls across the sand.

Well, this explains the deeper voice.

"Y-you're not..." I hear my voice tremble, "What are you doing here?"

He shifts slightly, cocking an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same, Miss Skinny Dipper."

That's when I realize I'm still standing up.

"OH MY GOD!"

Turning beet-red, I scream and immediately duck beneath the water.

_Where the hell did this guy even come from? Wasn't Namine supposed to-?_

Wait a minute.

I resurface, my very face steaming up the ocean.

"Where. Is. My. Sister." I demand.

"Don't know of any sister, babe"

I attempt to control my coloring, "Y-yes you do...she was with me!"

After rubbing his chin for a moment, he asks nonchalantly, "Oh, you mean that girl with the small tits, bleached hair, and garage sale swimsuit?"

He surveys me from his position adjacent the shoreline, stretching out his legs like some kind of cat. I open my mouth to confirm the description, but think better of it. He talks about her like she's some typical, common girl...the kind that he'd just finished using for a fuck toy.

I could never agree to that.

"If you mean to say a shy, sweet, blonde-haired girl, then YES. Namine."

"Doesn't matter, either way..." Axel drawls, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

"And why not?" I all but spit.

He sneers, letting a handful of sand sift between his fingers. "Well, for one thing, she pretty much dumped your ass and ran for it when she heard me coming."

I bite my bottom lip, which causes him to glance at me and balk his train of thought.

"If it makes ya feel better, your sissy looked pretty startled."

I find myself being drawn into the conversation.

"So, what'd she do, then?"

I cringe when his eyes flit to mine- like he's been expecting me to ask.

"I heard her yell something at you before she left...something like," The man suddenly raises his voice to falsetto, " 'Oh, Kairi, someone's coming this way! Hurry, run!'." His shrieking imitation of her is perfect.

If not for my predicament, I almost would have laughed.

"Enough of the jokes! You better give...!" I stop.

He blinks. "Give...what?"

Not answering him, I begin to take note of his dark attire; all of it being black leather. From the jacket, to his gloves, to his very boots.

"Are you some kind of cop?" I demand, with blatant quaking in my voice.

This seems to strike him as some sort of hilarious joke, his howl of laughter echoing across the empty beach. Flushing slightly, I angle my eyes down at my pruning hands.

Wiping what appears to be tears from his eyes, he chuckles, "Sweetheart, I should think that by now it'd be obvious that I'm not a cop. You ever seen a copper with looks like mine?"

He turns his head first to the left, then to the right, twisting his body into a series of corny, catalogue-model poses. Since he's only about 6 feet away, I can see almost every single flaming red spike on his lion's mane of hair. I can see his pale skin, his long limbs; the drop-shaped tattoos underneath his eyes. Eyes that I've yet to identify the color of.

"Aren't you going to ask what the other thing was?" He ends the silence, amusement evident in his tone as he closes his eyes.

Trying not to laugh again, I ask somewhat stiffly, "The other?"

"You know," He drawls, putting his arms behind his head, "The point that I was going to make, aside from your sister ditching you."

It doesn't take a genius to see that he's a good-looking guy. Too bad his attitude annoys me to hell and back.

"Enlighten me." I say, rolling my eyes as I dip myself chin-length into the water.

He sits up then, a nuance of sick, twisted enjoyment creeping into his features.

"Babe, you're talking to me, and you're still naked."

I look down, then quickly look up at him again, the color draining from my face. Seeing my horrified expression, the guy smiles and shakes his head in mock-sympathy.

"You're not very bright, are ya sweetheart."

I notice he didn't phrase it as a question.

"Look, just give me back my swimsuit," I snap in humiliation, "I don't need to take this crap from a stranger."

The smile widens. "Nah, I don't think I can."

I slap the water with my fist. "Why NOT?"

"Why not, why not?" He challenges.

_Ugh, what's wrong with this guy?_

"Why not, why not why not?"

"Pffft!" The redhead begins to laugh again, making me realize how idiotic I sound.

"WHY YOU-!"

"Ay, let's get this straight, sweetheart," He interrupts, slanting back down onto the beach, " I'm not 'You'. I'm Axel."

"Sounds like an auto repair place." I snicker.

"Better than sounding like a bitch."

"At least I don't steal girl's swimsuits!"

Axel's eyebrows raise a little. "Which girl?"

I groan, wishing I had something to bang my head into.

"Besides..." He continues, "Why the hell would _you_ want to steal another girl's bikini, anyway?"

"Not me, YOU!" I sputter.

"Ohhh," Axel clicks his tongue, closing his eyes again, "I had no clue you swung that way. Dirty girl."

"You're the pervert!"

"Says the girl who's naked in the water."

My face stings. "Says the guy who won't let her get dressed!"

"Maybe you're fun to mess with?" He suggests playfully.

"I AM NOT!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I have-!"

"Oho, so you've messed with yourself?" He interjects with amusement.

I hate him.

"I hate you!"

"Ya know," He props his head up again and looks me square in the face, "You sound like a spawn of Larxene, or somethin'."

"One of your whores?" I mutter sarcastically.

Axel sneers. "Well, if you want to be the spawn of a whore, then sure."

"You son of a b-"

"In any case, I was just a little bored," He says, then, seeing I'm about to flare up, tacks on,"But don't worry. I won't report you to the authorities for violating public law."

My mouth goes dry. "I thought you weren't a cop."

"Well babe, I'm no cop, that's for sure." He chuckles, like he's made some private joke.

"Then what are you? Some poor excuse of a lifeguard?"

"Hey there, now," Axel crosses his legs pretzel style, "No need to be such a spitfire towards my career. I happen to save people daily."

I raise an eyebrow.

"It's true," He stands up, "And I don't have your swimsuit, by the way. Your sissy snatched it and ran."

This guy must think I'm stupid.

"Nice try, 'life guard'. Give it back." I thrust out my arm.

Axel opens his mouth to counter, but the startling glare of flashlights from the end of the beach silence both of us. Without a word, Axel quickly peels off all of his clothing, leaving me openmouthed like a fish as my eyes glue onto him. My heart increases beats, and I just know my face is red.

"What are you doing?" I hiss.

Adjusting his conveniently worn, black swim trunks, Axel puts a now un-gloved finger to his lips, his clothes bundled under one muscular arm. Entering the water as the lights crawl across the beach, he gestures to me with two fingers over his shoulder. Most likely signaling for me to follow him; which I do, making sure I'm completely covered as I cautiously swim forward.

"Hey! " I whisper, hesitantly touching his hard shoulder when he doesn't acknowledge me.

Without a word, Axel unfolds his clothes bundle as he edges me towards some tall rocks, tugging out his huge t-shirt. After unwrapping it, he turns around and presses it into my hands, motioning for me to put it on. I grip the soaked black cotton tightly between my wrinkled fingers, giving him a confused look. Noticing, Axel leans into my face, his lips moving against the curve of my ear.

"Those are cops, and... in case you didn't know," I feel him tilt my face with his hand towards the lights. Three illuminated figures in uniform grip each of them. Seeing he has my attention, he continues, "If they catch you like this, you'll be charged with Public Nudity, girlie."

_Public Nudity?_

How much would a charge like that be? And why...

"Why are you so concerned?" I hear myself whisper, as Axel's breath warms the back of my chilled neck.

I feel a rumble of quiet laughter ripple from his chest to his throat, making me realize that I'm leaning into him.

"I'm a lifeguard, dummy." He gently detaches the t-shirt from my iron grip and rotates me with his arm until I'm looking right up at him. "I'm supposed to protect civilians."

"That makes no sense, though." Blushing from his touch, I inch away as I softly protest, "You're not required to protect people like this, and..."

My words die off from my lips as Axel begins pulling the heavy material of the shirt over my head. And, whether it's from surprise or fear, I find myself obligingly lifting my arms up for him to put through the side holes. Deciding to take it from here, I move back a ways from him and pull the shirt the rest of the way down, its length skirting my thighs.

Trying to think straight, I ask shakily, "Just how do I get out of this?"

After storing the rest of his clothing on a concealed, flat rock, Axel turns quickly back to me, his unidentifiable colored eyes almost dancing with what looks to be...excitement?

I hear him laugh softly. "Let the show begin, babe."

What show?

Lurching forward suddenly, Axel scoops me up into his long arms, egregiously maintaining his grip despite my newly surprised fit of silent kicking.

"What the hell were you thinking, damnit!" He yells into my face, making me jump at the sudden volume. Before I can cry out in surprise, however, Axel immediately cups his large hand over my mouth and proceeds to carry me to towards the shore. As soon as I feel him gripping me tighter, he throws our bodies down onto the sand, the flashlights tinted red through his curtain of hair as they dance all over us in the distance. Squirming and flustered under the warmth and weight of Axel's body, I open my mouth to protest.

"Shhh…"

Lips, warm and soft, openly crush against mine as I feel my chin tilt up. Pushing the screams to the back of my throat, I replace it with air as I pant against what I realize to be Axel's mouth; powerful, pinning, and so smothering that it makes me feel like I'm about to liquefy. As I struggle to make sense of what's happening, my lips begin to vibrate as he laughs softly into them-playfully mocking my confusion. Opening my mouth for air, I involuntarily gasp as his tongue snakes past my lower lip. I attempt to shove him off, my stomach heaving against his in a slight panic; and then hear deep, urgent voices rushing over.

Only when a serious, aged male voice questions harshly, "What is going on here?" does Axel finally release his suction on my mouth and sit up, facing three uniformed men.

"I found this girl drowning in the ocean. I had to perform CPR immediately, sir." He states simply, gesturing to me as I lay there; breathless and looking up at him in bewilderment.

"Why were you here to begin with?" A second officer snaps, "We received complaint calls of yelling from the houses surrounding this area."

Axel brushes himself off and rises to his feet, looking the officer in the eye.

"I'm a lifeguard here. I was working the last shift and got tired, so I fell asleep in our storage shack and-"

"Then how did you come upon the girl? One so scantily clad, at that?"

The third officer narrows his eyes suspiciously- and with good reason, I realize. From my spread out position on the ground, I eye the wet black shirt clinging to my body; the only piece of clothing to be seen on me. When you look at it from their view...

I look like the very picture of a molestation case.

"I was getting to that, bud, "Axel grins, much to the officer's annoyance, "I woke up hearing a girl's screams for help, so I came out and jumped into the water to get her. I saw her thrashing around near the rocks and-"

"Not every civilian would risk their lives for a stranger." The second officer interrupts, almost accusingly.

Axel bristles a bit, "Well, it's common knowledge that life guards are around for that very purpose..._sir_."

The officer's lip curls in silent defeat.

"Well, that explains the yelling complaints," The first officer mutters, jotting down notes on a neon-yellow pad, "But what of the clothing on the girl?"

Axel scratches the back of his neck, looking away for a moment. Just when the second officer is about to pounce, however, words hastily squeak out of me.

"It's what I wear over my bikini for extra sun protection, sir! I was walking waist deep in the water, you see, and was swept away when the tide tripped me. I was just out on a moonlight walk and..."

As I stand up, I note uncomfortably that all three officers are staring at me.

"Name?"

I answer the first promptly. "Kairi, sir."

"So this man did not harm you in any way, whatsoever?" The third demands.

"Of course not, he saved my life!" I say a little too defensively.

From the corner of my eye, I see Axel glance at me, which makes me stupidly blush back.

_Get a grip, Kairi, it's not like he really saved you from anything._

After whispering to each other for a moment, the two other officers nod and head back up the beach. The first officer start to turn away as well, only looking over his shoulder to inform me, "If you cannot swim, young lady, I advise you not to be so utterly reckless as to go to the beach alone."

Embarrassed, I look down, waiting until the patter of footsteps fade before I dare to look up.

"Close call, hm?" Axel questions humorously, once I raise my head.

I meet his gaze, hesitantly remarking, "I suppose I should thank you."

Axel snickers, "You _suppose_?"

Upon seeing his lips, my fingers reach up to touch my own.

_He actually..._

Hurriedly scanning the houses surrounding the beach, I yell as loudly as I dare, "Why the hell would you kiss me?"

"CPR, sweetheart, "Axel taps his grinning mouth, "Educate yourself."

"You've educated me quite enough on that!" I snap. Then, when something dawns upon me, I add angrily, "And you don't even need tongue for CPR!"

He smiles coyly, running his hand through his wet hair.

"Nah, that was just to lighten the mood."

Oh for the love of-

"I will thank you for covering for me," I hiss, "And that's all you deserve, you pervert!"

Before he can respond, I break into a sprint and head up the beach down the path that leads to my house. As I run, I see Axel salute me from below before sauntering off towards the rocks to get his clothing. I don't acknowledge him, though. I just keep running, although the guilt catches up with me.

And it's only when I reach my house that I realize I'm still wearing his damn shirt.

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><p>Heading out my front door, I grasp my plastic bag tightly in hand as I walk down to the beach, a blush already creeping into my cheeks. Boy, did I get a lot of questions about my mysterious new shirt. Especially from Namine, who, according to her: might have accidentally grabbed my bikini and put it in with her stuff, and how did I come by that shirt? Is it a boy?<p>

Chewing on my cheek to avoid the memorable taste of Axel's tongue in my mouth, I head down from the concrete path to the sand, the heat rising through my sandals as I scan the crowd for him. I see a wave from a high-up chair, followed by a distant, familiar voice shouting, "Hey, there, sweetheart!"

Trying to keep my face its normal pallor, I walk calmly over to Axel's tall seat, holding out the plastic bag as far as I can upward.

"This is yours. Thanks for letting me use it." I say stiffly.

I mean to leave right away, but stop when Axel pushes up his dark shades. Even from where I'm standing, I can see that his eyes are a surprisingly vivid, jungle green color.

It's a shame he's such a jerk, because he's- I mean, they're gorgeous.

"You're very welcome, miss princess," He looks me up and down before remarking casually, "So, from bikini, to naked, to t-shirt, to bright blue sundress, eh? You gonna dress up as a French maid tomorrow?"

That's it. Time to leave.

"Screw you!"

I stomp off, making it all the way up the path and near the fence before I'm jerked backwards into something hard. Which, upon turning around, turns out to be the muscles of Axel's bare chest.

Just how the hell did he follow me without my knowing?

"What." I demand impatiently, all traces of anger involuntarily fading as his viridian eyes bore into my blue ones.

"Tsk...I really hate to give this ugly thing back to you."

"What are you babbling about?" I ask with dread, backing away from him as I try to conceal my embarrassment. It's only then that I notice my pink bikini dangling from his long fingers.

But I thought...

"I thought-!"

He holds the swimsuit above my head, amused.

"You said you didn't have it!" I shriek, grasping the material of my swimsuit, "You asshole!"

He tugs at the swimsuit, but I tug back, refusing to let go. With a low laugh coming from his throat, Axel suddenly jerks the bikini towards him, yanking me into his chest. Stealthily, before I can even think to move, he pulls the swimsuit behind his head, taking my arm along with it.

_Wait a minute...Not letting go_ _is exactly what he wants me to do._

Realizing this all too late, I begin squirming, but Axel quickly finishes securing my arm in place behind his neck, locking it with his large hand.

"I lied, of course." He informs me delightedly.

"Axel, you friggin'-"

"But, I decided to give it back since..." He whispers slowly, his lips touching my jaw line, "You might need this the next time you decide to play the drowning game with me."

"I didn't...and I will never see you again..." I bite back a moan as Axel's mouth drags along my neck.

"Never be too sure." He states, bringing his forehead up to meet mine.

"If you'd planned on giving it back," I demand with slight desperation, "Then why won't you just give my swimsuit back, already?"

"Because, Kairi…"

Axel laughs softly, his lips lightly touching my trembling ones.

"…I prefer your birthday suit."

_Fin._

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><p>AN: Good or bad? Review, anyway. No matter how short. I just wanna know what you all think. If you want more on this couple, let me know. :)


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